by Bronson Herrmuth

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: I am from Tennessee. As they say, “born and half raised here”. I was born in east Tennessee, in the Smoky Mountain area.
Q: So when did you come to Nashville?
A: Well my family was in the music business from before I was ever born. It’s generational and because of the music business being here in Nashville my parents moved here when I was a little kid and I’ve lived here ever since.
Q: What was your first instrument?
A: My first instrument was saxophone. Then by the time I was a teenager I got into playing the Dobro guitar because nobody else in my family played that instrument so I jumped on the Dobro. I remember a lot of the older guys, like Bashful Brother Oswald and Josh Graves, were all from east Tennessee as well and I thought that was so cool the way they played the lap guitar so that made me want to play it.
Q: What all instruments do you play professionally?
A: I play the dobro, guitar of course, keyboards, bass, play the saxophone, mandolin, and that’s pretty much it. I stay away from the drums (laughing).
Q: So you basically play acoustic or you play both?
A: I play acoustic and electric but you know I’m known for my resonator guitar playing, for playing electric slide guitar. I play the Bluegrass style too but I’m more known for playing the bottleneck style, slide playing.
Q: Don’t you also build instruments?
A: Yes I do. I had my own line of guitars called Owens Guitars for many years. I worked with Gibson for a while helping do the dobro guitars and eventually left there in the late 90’s and went on to produce Dolly Parton’s records and doing other stuff, got back into that music, but still had the bug for instrument building and so we started Owens Guitars and built acoustic guitars and resonator guitars.
Q: Do you have a preference for playing live or playing in the studio?
A: Oh I grew up, my Dad had recording studios from when I was a kid. He actually built Fireside Studios here in Nashville, one of his first studios back in the early 70’s. He was managing Dolly Parton at the time, Porter Wagoner, they were all together. That’s when they built Fireside Studios, I think about ‘72, ‘73, somewhere in there. Anyway, so I got the studio bug, grew up playing in studios. Love doing that but there’s nothing like being out live with my band. I love doing that.
Q: And your band is?
A: Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau.
Q: So I’m here right now sitting in your studio with Bil VornDick over there working on the console. What is this project you’re doing right now?
A: Well this project that we’re working on now is actually Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau’s project. Bil’s in here engineering and producing the record. I wanted to take a break from just producing and trying to wear too many hats and be the artist in this situation and we’ve been friends for a long time. He really likes my music and wanted to get involved with the project and we’ve got some really great label interest going on right now so we’re getting our album finished for some of the label people that are talking to us.
Q: So you also mentioned you have a recording project going on right now with Dolly Parton?
A: Yeah I am producing a project right now. It’s called “Family, Something Special”, and it is a album and it’s also a film documentary on Dolly Parton’s family. All the Parton family and the Owen’s family and it goes all the way back to the Civil War era. Cold Mountain, the story of the fiddle player that’s in Cold Mountain is a true story. That’s mine and Dolly’s, Great Great Great Grandfather, and that fiddle was passed down to our Grandfather, which is now in the museum at Dollywood. That actual fiddle and that story from Cold Mountain is a true story and it’s our family and that’s how this filmography starts off. From there it talks about music always being in our families, you know. Everybody in our family, my Grandparents on back have always played music and performed as performers.
Q: So when is that? Do you have any kind of a time frame yet?
A: In the Fall. It’s going to be a Fall release.
Q: Do you have any advice for anybody that’s new to town or been here awhile trying to break into the live or studio playing?
A: Oh gosh, just hang tough, stay tough. The main thing is don’t get disillusioned and don’t bite on the first thing that lands on your bait, (laughing) so to speak. You know, ‘cause there’s a lot of opportunities and eventually you’ll weed through the weeds and find where the grass is green.
Q: Do you have a favorite kind of music?
A: I like all kinds of music from Blues to Bluegrass, I like it all. Good music is good music. You’re gonna find some good music in all kinds of music.

Visit Richie at his web site at www.richieowens.com

Listen to this entire interview at www.bronsonsmusic.com